


Is That Better?

by bubblegumclouds



Category: Best Song Ever - One Direction (Music Video), One Direction (Band)
Genre: Bullying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Upset Marcel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-21 10:08:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13738590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bubblegumclouds/pseuds/bubblegumclouds
Summary: Marcel is bullied and upset, taunted by the cheap insults of his peers. Louis finds him and somehow, along the way, stumbles upon what to say.(Fluffy highschool AU with hurt/comfort and cuddles!)





	Is That Better?

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy!
> 
> Twitter- angeltxmlinson  
> Tumblr- angeltxmlinson

Words of his peers stung like a violent scorpion. The comments based solely on Marcel’s appearance and the aids he needed began to wear tiresome on the teenager. When learning was all he strived for, it seemed incredulous that instead of attending the lessons he enjoyed, he was camped out safely in the bathroom. Locked within the confinement of such a diminutive space became the only time he let himself relax until he was home.

“Marcel?” a voice hesitantly called his name as a knock vibrated the safety barrier between Marcel and them.  
“P-Please don’t hurt me, I just want to be left alone,” Marcel replied solemnly, his sniffling giving away the current state of his emotions far more than he would have preferred.  
“I’m ‘ere to help.”

_Louis._

That accent was undoubtedly Louis’. Marcel let himself revel in the sweet tones of the boy he’d been heavily admiring since he was a mere 14-year-old with a bag heavier than his own body weight.  
“Marcel, I know you’re upset. Please, I-I want to talk,” Louis sounded somewhat sincere and from the angle of the shadow slipping in through the minimal gap and the shuffling noise of trainers, Marcel could tell Louis had been the only one to arrive at the door.

He debated his choices much like he would an equation, quickly dividing what answers were his heart begging to grab any heavenly moment with Louis and his head picturing the grotesque images of his face meeting the bacteria-filled water just under where he was sat. Against his typical and logical reasoning, he clicked the lock open and Louis bumbled in.

Marcel had decided to describe Louis as a small riot, albeit a very kind one, but nonetheless still a riot. Every space Louis occupied was bursting with his thunderous voice and every sight of him was usually captured between the bobbing heads of his female admirers. He was the epitome of social, the height of charm and the embodiment of the word extrovert.

“Hello Louis,” Marcel greeted as he averted his gaze upward. The moment his eyes captured Louis’, he felt a wave of an emotion he hadn’t dealt with much before. Despite his upset and the tears still begrudgingly leaking down his face, he knew that emotion to be somewhat related loosely to _love._ He believed most people called it a crush although Marcel had never been one to follow a trend.

“Marcel, what they said out there was not okay. Don’t believe them,” Louis’ voice was infused with anger and a glimmer of upset which Marcel was puzzled by.  
“Yes, I don’t quite understand why your peers decide to remind me continuously that I’m gay and that my parents are very much against that fact in regards to their open faith but I guess that comes with being on the receiving end of it,” Marcel commented on the events that had happened prior and this arose a short laugh out of the other boy. Marcel’s head snapped up instantly following the noise, his guard drawing back up should an attack be imminent.

“What’s so funny?” Marcel asked hesitantly, wondering if drawing attention to the noise would amplify the consequences of said noise.  
“Nothing, sorry, just an angry laugh, you know? Like a bitter one,” Louis explained nonchalantly and Marcel’s muscles relaxed from their fighting instinct.  
“Angry? Why?” Marcel prompted further on Louis’ answer, wanting to attempt to understand why Louis was standing in front of him and not in class.

“Because you’re so amazing Marcel, you’re so lovely and sweet and smart. You’re always so innocent, yet they just hurt you because they’re pathetic, vile little fuckers-“ Louis smashed his fist into the wall to his left, the tension building too fast for his body to cope with. It rattled against the impact and judging by the shabbiness of everything else in this establishment, Marcel was stunned it didn't break. Despite the startled jump it sent through Marcel, it was not an uncommon occurrence for Louis to get violent. It was never with people however there had been instances where Marcel had skimmed past him starting a one-sided boxing match with a lamppost when leaving the gates.

“I’m not... I-I’m not any of those things, Louis,” Marcel muttered sadly, dragging his glasses off to wipe the fresh onslaught of tears away. Louis crouched to Marcel’s level when he spotted the action, his caring nature outweighing any frustration.  
“You are Marce, how could you say that?” Louis squinted and tilted his head with the question, a movement Marcel likened to a puppy.  
“I have to face it, I’m not good enough, I never will be. Not in my parent's eyes, not in my peer's eyes. I’m what people like to call a failure,” Marcel managed to force out the words as though they held no emotional meaning to them, his voice only wavering on the last syllable.

“You’re good enough to me, and to the teachers, and to all those incredible uni’s you’ve got in’t,” Louis listed back the people who had shown any appreciation for Marcel’s work.  
“The teachers only respect me because I make their jobs easier, Louis. They are paid to take a likening to people like me. The Universities need their grades to stay satisfactory. You, well, I haven’t quite worked that one out yet. I think you care because you know you can offer me money in exchange for completed essays,” Marcel knew he had talked for longer than he typically would but was slightly enthralled when Louis clung to every word that came out of Marcel’s mouth.

“Oi! I get good grades on me homework thanks!” Louis laughed and by the way he placed a finger under Marcel’s chin and directed his gaze towards Louis, he wanted Marcel to as well.  
“I’m sorry Louis, I’m afraid I can’t seem to smile,” Marcel sincerely apologised and Louis’ face fell. Marcel would have done anything not to have caused the bleak expression.  
“That’s alright, I’m here anyway,” Louis said and Marcel wasn’t entirely sure what the statement meant but the way Louis spoke made him believe every breath.

Both of them sat in silence for a while. Marcel wasn’t very settled in the overwhelming crowd of nothingness and the presence of an almost stranger seemed to amplify that discomfort. Marcel shuffled a little, restless in the fact that he had now tuned in to the just audible crowds chattering along the corridors. He tried to take joy in this moment though as he recognised Louis was doing a very considerate and generous act, his friends were probably questioning his whereabouts. 

“Louis, you don’t have to stay here with me,” Marcel whispered, making sure Louis didn’t feel as though he were trapped to Marcel’s side by way of guilt.  
“I know but you deserve someone to care about what’s going on and be there for you, I want that to be me,” Louis grinned as if this wasn’t anything to him, as if he didn’t even consider not helping Marcel. That took him aback, none of the figures he admired in his life had ever shown the type of compassion that Louis was currently displaying and they had known Marcel in a lot more detail that Louis did.

“I-I don’t quite know what to say. Um, I-I... thank you,” Marcel stuttered and Louis sent him the warmest, most altruistic grin. His eyes spoke volumes more than Marcel ever thought words were capable of, the intense passion and understanding struck Marcel so strongly he could barely catch his breath.  
“You aren’t just good enough Marce, you are more than that,” Louis adamantly replied with a glare that said he truly meant it. Marcel didn’t give a moment’s consideration before he astonished even himself by pulling his fellow classmate in for an embrace. 

Despite the nervousness burning at his core and collecting his chest in a vice-like grip, the moment Louis’ arms wrapped around Marcel, he knew it was okay. Louis gave a hug that assembled his metaphorical broken pieces and cradled them together, one that felt like a home you could return to when you needed respite.

“Louis?” Marcel whispered as he relished the comfort he wished he’d felt at many other points of his life.  
“Yeah?” Louis brokenly rasped, the emotion clearly getting to him as well.  
“I hate the nickname Marce,” Marcel commented in a vague attempt at a joke. When it brought the smile back to Louis’ face, Marcel felt more content than any grade could have provided him with.

“I’ll remember that in future, what about the nickname, beautiful, is that better?” Louis smoothly replied and Marcel tensed, the comment catching him in a moment where he was vulnerable and bringing up a subject that was so very tender to him. Marcel forced his brain to relax and trust Louis, trust the boy who had saved him that day.  
“Much better,” Marcel replied, pushing his glasses up on his nose and savouring the adoration radiating from his soon-to-be boyfriend (although he wasn’t quite aware of that title yet.)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Please leave kudos and comments! :)
> 
> Twitter- angeltxmlinson  
> Tumblr- angeltxmlinson


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